This invention relates to a chemical process which comprises the production of elemental potassium and the subsequent reaction of said elemental potassium with other reactants, including various metallic ores, such as those of magnesium, lead, zinc, copper, arsenic, antimony or silver to release said metals from their naturally occuring forms, in elemental state, or with water to produce potassium hydroxide and hydrogen and further reacting additional elemental potassium with said potassium hydroxide to produce more hydrogen and a thermally unstable potassium oxide which decomposes into potassium and potassium peroxide or potassium superoxide, optionally reacting said hydrogen and potassium to produce potassium hydride to store the produced hydrogen or to further react said potassium hydride with carbon to produce potassium acetylide and optionally using additional hydrogen to saturate the carbon bonds of these unsaturated compounds, utilizing process potassium or potassium hydride to catalyze the hydrogenation.